I58 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. — REPORTS OF MEETINGS. 



Their aim was, in brief, to write the history of the county in pictures. The scheme 

 had been anticipated in several other English counties, notably in Warwickshire, 

 where it had been at work for some years. In Surrey, too, a start had been 

 made. There were in the county thousands of amateur photographers, there 

 being 50 organised societies, and it was hoped to enlist their sympathies in the 

 work. The financial question was not a serious one, a comparatively small sum 

 being required for the purposes of the Survey. The minimum subscription 

 would be half-a-crown, but many would, no doubt, subscribe more. 

 Besides collecting current photographs, they hoped to become the 

 custodians of many prints and engravings that already existed which threw 

 any light on the social life and customs of the people of the county. He pro- 

 duced a sample collection of photographs such as it was proposed to collect, 

 which had been contributed by the Woodford Photographic Society. The 

 photographs were mostly half plates, and accompanying them were schedules of 

 information as to place, time, and photographer, etc. In conclusion, Mr. 

 Christv said he hoped people who had prints or pictures which they were willing 

 to hand over to the Council, would communicate with the hon. secretary, Mr, 

 Victor Taylor, at the Essex Museum ot Natural History, where the photographs, 

 etc., were to be stored under the care of Mr. W, Cole, the Curator of 

 the Survey. 



Mr. Albert E Briscoe, B.Sc, Principal of the Municipal Technical Institute, 

 West Ham, then explained the project, and he was followed by Professor 

 Meldola, F.R.S., President of the Royal Photographic Society, who gave 

 further reasons why the scheme should be supported, and by Mr. F. W. Kudler, 

 F.G.S., who thought the new project was calculated to exercise a great influence 

 throughout the county, and the collection, interesting as it would be from the 

 beginning, would in time become invaluable. 



The Chairman brought the discussion to a close by describing the step 

 they had taken as an act of commor.-sense, which had been defined as the highest 

 kind of science. 



Some remarks on the progress of the Survey will be found in the Annual 

 Report of the Council, printed in the Year Book of the Club for the 

 current year. 



The company, on the invitation of Lady Warwick, then paid a visit to 

 Bigods Hall, formerly the county seat of Lord Fitzgerald, and now a Secondary 

 and Agricultural School, founded by the Countess, and there they were enter- 

 tained to tea by the Principal, Mr. T. Hacking, and Mrs. Hacking. Subsequentlv 

 Mr. Hacking gave an explanation of the methods of the School, and described the 

 curriculum, taking the visitors on a tour of inspection. The school, which is on 

 the most modern lines, proved very interesting, and the work done there is 

 evidently very thorough, embracing poultry-keeping, fruit culture, bee-keeping, 

 and manual instruction, manurial experiments, and meteorological observations, 

 etc.i 



In the evening the main portion of the Company drove back to Bishops 

 Stortford, for the return trains. 



[The above is compiled from the excellent reports in the East Anglian Daily 

 Times and the Essex County Standard, — Ed.] 



1 See reports of previous visits to the School in former volumes of Essex Naturalist. 



